


The Long Road

by secret_daydreamer



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: AU, Daisy as Melinda's daughter, F/M, Jemma as Phil's daughter, PTSD
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-05
Updated: 2016-03-05
Packaged: 2018-05-24 22:39:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 5,294
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6169402
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/secret_daydreamer/pseuds/secret_daydreamer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Phil's been lonely for quite some time - long since divorced with his daughter living on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. That all changes when she moves to London, too, and he meets Melinda May.</p>
<p>Not exclusively focused on Phil and Melinda but also on the relationship between the parents and their daughters.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Introduction

It’s funny how he never thought his life would turn out this way. He always thought he’d manage to make it work, have a family and travel around the world as a diplomat to try and make the world just a little more peaceful but as always reality was quite different.  
He’d been divorced for about seven years now and regretted to have to admit rarely saw his now 18-year-old daughter – Jemma. She and his ex-wife Audrey had travelled with him for many years but when she had been offered a permanent position at the Portland philharmonics they had regretfully parted ways. Jemma had been about old enough to enter Middle School then and they had decided that travelling around, never being able to truly form friendships, shortly having no sense of continuity and stability was no life for a teenager.  
So now here he was, skyping with his only child every week or so but not really seeing her personally other than some of his weeks off work or during her vacation. They always timed it so that they could spend as much time together as possible but that quality time had gradually become less over the years.  
Jemma’s face popped up on his laptop and clicked the button that answered the call.  
“Hey, Dad. How’s life in London treating you so far?” He couldn’t help smiling, they hadn’t been able to talk since he’d been transferred back to London one and a half weeks ago.  
“It’s rainy and the people are polite but really grumpy, plus I don’t get the subways system. But I’d much rather hear about my favourite daughter. Have you decided on a college yet?”  
“I’m your only daughter, Daddy. And, no, I haven’t. Mum doesn’t agree with my choice. It has all I could ask in a university, it’s one of the best and I was accepted, too. And, despite what Mum says I really want to go there for the University, it has everything, extra-curricular activities, renowned professors who can support my studies, everything I would ask for-“  
“Hold up, hold up, honey. Then what’s the problem? Why doesn’t Audrey want you to go there?” He inquired, he couldn’t imagine any reason his ex-wife wouldn’t want their daughter to go to a university that she so obviously admired. They had always supported her, he’d even mostly managed to make it to her science contest and be there when she won prizes.  
“Well, the university…” she halted and pursed her lips as she always did when she was forced to reveal something she was uncomfortable with or would rather keep secret. He waited for her to continue. “It might, sort of, maybe…. Be the SHIELD Academy of London” She spoke the last words so quickly he almost missed them. She looked at him doubtfully, her brows creased.  
She was obviously waiting for his reaction. He felt a sudden surge of affection for his not so little girl anymore. He felt proud that despite him not being there as often as he had wishes, she hadn’t shut him out and despised him now. She even wanted to go to a university near him – though that wasn’t for him but for the university, he knew, but still.  
He smiled. “This is your decision, honey. Whatever you decide, I’ll support you and your Mom will, too but… if you do this to spend more time with me. I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you. But I won’t be here forever I… I’ll be sent to another country in about five years. “   
He suddenly felt like a terrible father. He was supposed to live with her and beg her to stay close and make her promise to call every night.  
“It’s fine, Dad. But that’s not the only reason. It’s certainly an upside, though. I’ll have another five years with you.” She grinned at him. “And, when I’m near you I can maybe make you go out some more. Seriously, Dad, I can tell you’re lonely.”  
He groaned.   
“Oh, please. You know how that turned out last time. I just travel too much for there to be a possibility of a future with anyone. And, besides, I’ve got you.”   
She rolled her eyes at his sappy line. He really was lucky to have a daughter like Jemma.  
She sighed. “Now I just have to tell Mum I’ll leave for London in a few months.”  
“Are you absolutely sure you want to go to SHIELD Academy?”  
“Dad, it’s SHIELD Acadamy. Of course I’m sure.”  
“Fine, I’ll talk to Audrey.”  
“Thanks, Daddy. Love you. I have to go now, though. I’ll meet up with Bobbi and Lance. Bye.”  
“Bye, honey.”  
The call ended and he fell back into the couch. He was excited, he couldn’t even deny it. Finally, he wouldn’t be so alone in a city. He knew, rationally, that Jemma wouldn’t want to spend every day with her old man but he was still happy.


	2. Chapter 2

He walked through London with a fresh cup of coffee in his hands. Anyone could see the swing in his step but he couldn’t help it, his daughter would arrive in only two days and he couldn’t wait to see her.  
In is excitement, though, he missed a woman who had stopped on the sidewalk and spilled the hot beverage all over her.  
“I’m so sorry”, he apologized over and over but the woman showed no emotion – no anger, no annoyance, just no emotion at all.   
When he didn’t stop making excuses she looked straight into is eyes and said, her voice flat: “It’s fine.” and walked away.  
“Hey”, he called after her. Something about her intrigued him. He wanted to find out why she didn’t even sound annoyed or even just rolled her eyes at him. He’d already spilled coffee over he so he figured he couldn’t embarrass himself further. “Can I buy you a drink or something, you know, to apologize?”  
She turned to face him once more. “No, thanks.”  
“Oh, well. Nice having met you, then.”   
She cocked her head to the side a little. “What, no trying to persuade me?”   
He could’ve sworn she was flirting with him by the little sparkle he thought he could make out in her eyes but it was hard to tell, given her stoic expression.   
“I can take a hint.” He smiled at her and turned away slowly, hoping she would turn around and stop him. Out of the corner of his eye he could see her roll hers and his smile broadened at the victory of having gotten a reaction out of her.  
He walked a couple of steps but she didn’t speak up so kept walking. It could’ve gone worse, really, his first time trying to flirt in almost two years. He’d had a couple of flings before that but never anything serious and then he’d simply been two wrapped up in work so he was out of practice.   
So the encounter only added to his good mood.


	3. Chapter 3

He waited for her anxiously. The feeling could only be compared to a caffeine overdose, although he hadn’t even had any coffee today.  
She was set to arrive at 10:30am. It was 10:47am now, but he figured she needed time to exit the plane and gather her suitcase.  
Then he saw her. He was in front of her in a few quick strides and before he could say anything she had dropped her things and flung her arms around him. She hugged him tightly. It had been too long since they’d last seen each other in person. He had missed her so much. He told her so.  
“I missed you, too. I’m so glad I decided on Oxford. Thanks for letting me stay with you until I move to Campus.”  
They let go of each other and he grabbed her suitcase and started walking to his car, Lola, with her.  
“Are you kidding? This way I can make you chocolate chip pancakes and we can watch Doctor Who together again and you can babble to me while working on your research again.”  
“You hate when I do that.”  
“No, I don’t. I just don’t understand anything. I actually think it’s quite adorable. You used to do that a lot when you were a kid.”  
“I’m not adorable, Dad. And I still do that. I just work better articulating my thoughts. But back to the chocolate chip pancakes – I could really devour a whole batch of them right about now. Airplane food really is terrible.”  
He couldn’t have wiped the smile off his face if he’d tried. It was good to have Jemma back.  
Settled back into his apartment, after an extensive pancake second breakfast, they were settled in front of the tv, despite it being midday. It was Saturday so Phil had nowhere to be and he didn’t want to be anywhere else anyway.  
“So, Dad, I’ll really enjoy setting you up on random date and finding you the love of your life like all the children with divorced parents in movies get to do.” She had that mischievous grin on her face that he knew she could’ve only inherited from him.  
“I don’t need you to find me another love of my life. You are.” He loved teasing her like that. He knew she wasn’t one for clichés or sappy lines and he wasn’t that much of a fan of them either but it always earned him a good-natured eyeroll and a smile and he was a sucker for those.  
“Ok, that was way over the top, even for you.”  
They returned to watching the Doctor Who episode in silence, Phil constantly shoving caramelized popcorn into his mouth, he was a sucker for that stuff.  
“Would you stop eating the popcorn already? We’re not even twenty minutes into the episode and you’ve eaten half the bag already while I’ve had like two pieces”, she complained and tried to snatch the bag from his stranglehold but failed and spilled the remainder of the content all over the place.  
She stilled for a second looking at the mess she’d made. Then, suddenly, she jumped up and yelled: “At least this way there’ll be more for me because I’m much quicker than an old man such as yourself” and proceeded to grab all the pieces of popcorn she could fin. At that a battle for popcorn enhanced that, he lamented to have to admit, Jemma won by far.  
He fell back onto the couch, still laughing like he hadn’t in years. “I really am becoming quite old”, he sighed.  
“I missed you, Dad”, she giggled.  
“Missed you, too.”


	4. Chapter 4

A couple of days later he had driven them to Campus to settle her into her apartment. They were walking through the halls, Jemma constantly chattering on about how excited she was about having her own apartment and finally being able to do some real research. But as much as he was happy for her, he was also concerned for her. It would be the first time she was really on her own. Before, even when she wasn’t living with him, he always knew she’d be with Audrey.  
“This should be it, I believe”, she announced and opened the door with the number 324 on it and entered the apartment.  
It wasn’t exactly spacious but it fit a small couch with a tea table in front of it and a tiny kitchenette with a small quadratic table and two chairs in front of it. The walls were creamy white and the floor was dark brown. Through the open doors, one to the left and two to the right, they could see two bedrooms and a bathroom.  
Jemma decided on the single room on the left side of the apartment and they put her suitcase and bags there. Jemma looked worried all of a sudden.  
“What’s wrong?”  
“I’m a little worried about my roommate. I mean, I was told her name was Daisy Johnson but that’s all I know about her. What if I don’t like her? It’s mandatory for first years to stay in the room they were assigned to show social competences and encouraging us to be diplomatic. I, as the daughter of a diplomat, of course, should manage, everything else would be a bit embarrassing.” Her shoulders sagged a bit. Then she looked up at him again. “What if she smells, Dad? Or worse, majored in sports or arts? What would I talk to her about? I can’t go not talking to my roommate for a year!”  
“Breathe, honey. I can’t be that bad. Remember, my roommate at university was Tony Stark. He was a giant pain in the ass, thought he was god’s gift to the human race or something.”  
Everybody knew Tony Stark now, he was a famous car racer and chance actor with a massive ego but he had served for great comic relief in his rather stressful life and he still did, occasionally, when they happened to be in the same city.  
“You’re friends, Dad!”  
“My point exactly. If I can come to like Tony Stark, it’s possible to come to like just about anyone.” He grinned at her and, honestly, it was true. It had taken him a while to see past Stark’s narcissistic exterior and notice the daddy issues behind the guy. And, truth be told, he’s a good person at heart and since he’d married Pepper Potts he also had someone to handle his sorry ass and keep him in line.  
At least that made Jemma smile a little, although she still looked worried.  
Then, they heard the door open.  
“Oooohh…. here we go.” She exhaled and looked at him for help then took in a sharp breath. “I can do this. Just breathe, Jemma.”  
She walked out into the living area of the apartment and stood in the door frame waiting for the girl with the long brown, who wore a major grin on her face.   
Phil didn’t think she’d seen him or Jemma because she did a little dance, singing “I’ve got my own apartment, I’ve got my own apartment. This is gonna be awesome, awesome, awwwwwsome.” She stopped when she noticed them.   
“Oh, uh, hi. I’m Daisy and I thought I was alone. You must be Jemma Simmons.” She stood there awkwardly then remembered to offer her hand.  
She hadn’t really used his last name since he and Audrey had divorced. Audrey had told him it was easier when they had the same last name and since she’d had a double name, she simply didn’t use the second part of it anymore. Officially, though, she was still Jemma Elizabeth Simmons-Coulson.  
Jemma shook Daisy’s hand curtly. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m sure we’ll get along fine. I don’t smell… at least I hope I don’t and I’m quite tidy, so a messy apartment won’t be a problem.” She was going to go on but stopped abruptly, realizing she was starting to ramble. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”  
“So… What’s your major? Mine’s computer sciences.”  
“Biochem. I’m so glad you’re not a sports major. I wouldn’t have known a thing to talk to you about.”  
“I feel ya. I’m glad you’re not law or something, the last one I met was really stuck up and arrogant. Oh, or engineering. I ran into some guy earlier, Scottish, the accent was pretty cute but I think he’s absolutely not suited for living.”  
Jemma chuckled a little and Phil was glad that they seemed to be getting along fine. He made himself known by clearing his throat.  
“Oh, this is my Dad, Phil Coulson.”  
“Nice to meet you, Daisy” He said as he stepped forward and they shook hands.  
“Nice meeting you, too. Do you live around here or did you follow Jemma halfway around the world? ‘Cause that’d be totally be creepy and I didn’t expect anyone else to bring their parents. That’s why I sent my mother to take a walk around campus so I wouldn’t make a bad first impression. I think I’ll just text her that it’s okay for her to come her now.”   
They all smiled at her antics as she took out her phone and her fingers rapidly swiped over the screen. Her fingers halted.  
“No, I live around here. Just about 15 minutes away.”  
“Not sure if that’s cool or annoying.”  
She started typing again until she put the phone away and looked up at them.  
“She’ll be here in a bit.”  
They proceeded with awkward small talk until the door opened again and Phil’s moth fell open in shock.


	5. Chapter 5

In front of her stood none other than the person he had spilled coffee over a week ago. He quickly closed his mouth again and hoped nobody had notices. Hopefully she wouldn’t remember him.  
But no such luck, she looked at him, her eyebrows raised and her head cocked to the side ever so slightly. However, she didn’t say anything but instead turned to her daughter.   
“So you decided not to be embarrassed about me anymore?” Despite her words there was no accusation in her tone, he even thought he could detect a hint of amusement colouring her words. Her face, though, remained as impassive and emotionless as he remembered.  
“No, still embarrassed but me and Jemma can now be embarrassed together, since her Dad’s here, too.” She gave her mother a mischievous smile and turned half around to face Jemma and Phil, who had walked forward to stand next to his daughter.  
“That’s my mom, Melinda May” she introduced the woman to them. He hadn’t realized that he hadn’t even learned her name before. Daisy went on: “Mom, this is Jemma Simmons, my roommate for at least the next year and her father Phil Coulson.”  
Jemma went to shake her hands and he could see her inhibitions at the contact but she didn’t draw away but took her hand nonetheless. They exchanged pleasantries until the girls decided the grown-ups needed to leave – like right now.  
“I’ll call you when I’m all settled in, Dad. There’s really no reason why you should waste your time here.” Jemma gave him a hug right about at the same time Daisy gave her mom a hug and before they knew it they adults stood in front of their daughters’ apartment.  
“Whew. This doesn’t feel right”, he sighed.  
“They’ll be fine”  
“I know that, rationally. It’s still my daughter I’m supposed to leave here all by herself.”  
“I taught Daisy self-defence”, Melinda stated as if that clarified everything.  
“Know a lot about fighting?”, he asked, hoping this time she wouldn’t shut him down as quickly as last time.  
“I was specialist in the army”  
“Impressive. What do you do now?”  
“Commercial plane pilot.”  
“That sounds great. What do you enjoy most? The freedom or the sight?”  
“The solitude”, she stated in a way that told him the conversation was over. To emphasize her point, she simply walked away without so much as a goodbye.   
This time, though, he wasn’t going to give up that easily. “You know, I still owe you coffee”, he called after her.  
He stopped and turned around. The right corner of her lips quirked up just a millimetre. “I don’t know about coffee, but I could use some tea.”  
To say he was surprised she had accepted his offer was an understatement. “Really?”, he asked.  
She rolled her eyes and it must’ve been the cutest thing he’d ever seen. He broke out a grin.  
“Let’s go, I know just the place.”


	6. Chapter 6

When they had both ordered their beverages and settled into a corner booth of the cozy little Café they didn’t really speak for a few seconds, both busy with trying to get their drink to cool down.  
“Not much of a coffee person?” He gestured towards her cup of peppermint tea.  
“I hate it”  
“Wow. Hate is a very strong emotion to be feeling towards a drink. Had any unpleasant run ins with it?”  
“I just dislike everything about it – the taste and what it represents” He waited for her to elaborate but she didn’t. Well, try again, Phil, he thought.  
“Why did you stop working as a specialist?”  
“I prefer not to discuss it.” The finality in her tone made him look up at her from his coffee. He could see some pain in her eyes and decided not to broach the matter any further and talk about himself instead. At least he knew what he was comfortable talking about.  
“I work as a diplomat with lawyers of international law and human rights. I really enjoy the job, makes me feel like I can contribute to making the world better place but it has its costs. Cost me my marriage and I also didn’t get to spend as much time with Jemma as I would’ve wished.” He paused hoping for any reaction from her. This wasn’t going very well.  
“Must be why you talk so much”, she finally spoke.  
“Huh?”   
“You, being a diplomat. Comes with the job, I suppose”, she elaborated.  
“What’s your excuse?”  
He could see her jaw tighten and her muscles tense.   
“It’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it”, he retreated. He couldn’t force her to speak to him and if she didn’t want to have a conversation then that was that. At least he’d tried.  
He was about to tell her that his debt had been compensated and that he was sorry for having spilt coffee on her so he could leave her alone when she closed her eyes and sighed.  
“No, it’s fine. Daisy always tells me I need to be more open and stop making feel people so unwanted. It’s just a sore topic.” She took another breath as if to brace herself for whatever she was going to reveal to him. “A couple of years back I was on a mission and it went south. I came back home and everything changed. I… have PTSD.”  
“I’m so sorry for pressuring you. I work with some soldiers who battled PTSD and I know how awful it is. I shouldn’t have inquired as much as I have.”   
“It’s fine. It’s been years. I should be stronger than that but I haven’t been the same.”  
“Don’t say that. You being there for your daughter is proof enough that you’ve been strong. I’ve seen what that can do to a person. You’re doing great.”  
“Thanks, Mr. Coulson but you don’t even know me, you have no idea how I’m doing. I can’t hold a conversation with anyone other than my daughter. That can’t be healthy but I just can’t get myself to talk.”  
He debated whether he should mention to her that they were having a conversation right now but decided against it. As long as she was unaware she might keep talking to him.  
“Call me Phil, please. If you want to I could maybe give your number to one of my friends with PTSD. Talking with someone with similar experiences might help.”  
“Thanks but no, thanks. I feel like I’m being psychoanalysed every time someone tries to get into details with me… That’s what ruined my marriage.” He waited for her to continue because he sensed that maybe for her it was easier to open up to a stranger than to someone close to her.   
“And all my friendships, too. I haven’t had tea with anyone in years. So, thanks for this.”  
“I could be your friend. This would make a terrible first date, anyway.”  
She smiled, really smiled for the first time. “I didn’t know this was supposed to be a date” She raised her eyebrow teasingly. Now, she was definitely flirting.  
“It could still be but didn’t we just agree that it wasn’t?”   
“Oh, no agreed on that. I didn’t comment at all. So if you’d talk less this could still be a date”  
He lifted his right hand to his mouth and made a motion to lock his mouth and throw away the keys.  
She rolled her eyes again but didn’t speak up but instead leaned back and let him know she enjoyed the silence. He motioned for her to speak, though, all the while smiling like a little kid on Christmas because he had finally gotten her to open up a little.  
“I enjoy martial arts.” He raised his eyebrow. Think you can scare me away with that?  
“And I’m not a very chatty person, which is why you should take over this conversation again”  
He furrowed his brows and pretended to be offended. That made her chuckle and he beamed at her.  
“Don’t worry, it’ll still be a date. I just don’t want to do all the talking”  
“In that case I’ll gladly help you out.”  
They chatted some more, he even made her smile a couple of times but after another hour or so she started looking at her watch rather frequently.  
“Getting bored or do you have somewhere else to be?”  
“I actually do. I have to be at work in about two hours and I haven’t packed.”  
“Do you live here?”, he asked. It hadn’t even occurred to him that it was very possible that she didn’t even live in London.  
“Why? Wanna see me again?” There it was, another quirk of her lips.  
“As a matter of fact, I do.”  
“Yeah, I moved here a couple of months back. I needed a change of scenery and Daisy would be here. So that wasn’t even a question.”  
He grinned. “I’m glad. When do you get back from the flight?”  
“Thursday but I’ll be jetlagged the whole day. I’ll be off until Monday after that.”  
“Planning the whole weekend already?”   
“Presumptuous much?”  
“I wasn’t the one that planned a whole weekend for our next date “, he protested good-naturedly.  
“Meet me Diavolo’s Friday 8pm. I know the owner; I’ll get us a table.”  
“Fine, but I’ll pay.”  
“It’s a date.”  
He slipped her his card. “Call me if the plan changes”  
They both walked outside to where their cars were parked.  
“Bye. See you on Friday.”  
She kissed his cheek and walked to her car without saying anything else. But Phil couldn’t be happier. Maybe London was alright, after all.


	7. Chapter 7

It was a quarter to seven, Melinda stood in front of the mirror, observing. She wore a figure hugging black dress and had her hair in soft curls. She hadn’t applied any make-up yet, still debating whether the dress was too much or appropriate for the occasion.  
She felt a sudden surge of resentment towards herself for caring so much. It wasn’t like they were going to have a serious relationship or anything. She liked him well enough but she couldn’t allow herself to care. The only thing she hoped to gain was a bed partner, maybe even a semi-permanent one if he was willing and able.  
After the incident she hadn’t really let anyone in, for a while she’d even had trouble giving Daisy what she required of a mother. It wasn’t like she hadn’t cared for or loved her but she had felt like it would be better for both of them to be apart, she had shut her out, never letting her near. Then she hadn’t realized how cruel that was for a twelve-year-old. She was trying to compensate for that lack in presence now, although she knew that would never be possible.  
Daisy, rationally, had understood that her mother was sick and therefore distant but emotionally it had hurt her. Melinda was grateful every minute of her life that she had forgiven her and that they were now close again.  
Her phone rang.  
“Think of the devil…”, she stated upon picking up.  
“Ooh, you were thinking of me, cute”, Daisy smirked.  
“How’ve you been?”  
“Oh, College life’s been treating me well enough. Classes are ok, a little too theoretical for my liking, though. You remember Jemma, right? My roommate? Yeah, she’s something else, always talks about science, doesn’t go out much but she’s quite the adorable one. That one guy from one of her classes won’t talk to her, she’s convinced he hates her but I’m pretty sure he has a major crush on her that he won’t get out a word.” She chuckled softly.  
Melinda was used to this routine of Daisy basically giving a monologue about current occurrences in her life. They even had this little ritual of theirs when Melinda was considerably worse and rather far away from her daughter. She set about to put on make-up while still listening to Daisy’s words and occasionally giving a little chuckle herself or raising her eyebrow.  
“How about you, what are you getting all dolled up for? Have a hot date?”  
“Daisy”, she warned. She had told her daughter various times that her love life was off limits but that didn’t stop that little devil she’d raised from prying and meddling.  
“Aw, come on, you can tell me, won’t wanna leave your only child in the dark about the new love of your life, right?”  
“I’m pretty sure you don’t want to hear about the outcome of my dates, though”, she teased. She knew that Daisy, like most children, was disgusted with the details of their parents’ love life. And as if on cue, her daughter’s face twisted up in disgust.  
“Yeah, you’re right, spare me the details. I just thought because you’re wearing your nice dress it’d be an actual date this time. Who is he, anyway? I could research him.”  
“You won’t. He’s fine, I’ve sort of been out with him before.”  
“Aw, come on. Spill!”  
Melinda just smiled at her teasingly, an eyebrow raised.  
“Uh, fine. Don’t tell me”, she huffed in annoyance.  
Melinda finished her final touches of make-up and chuckled at her daughter’s mannerisms.  
“Dad remarried. You should, too. Everyone needs someone in their life, makes it more interesting.” Daisy always pulled the Dad-remarried-card. She should know by now that it barely even pained her anymore to see the man she had once loved be with someone else. She always did feel a little pang of loneliness when her daughter told her of her little half siblings Bruce and Darcy Johnson and Andrew’s wonderful wife. Melinda had met her several times and she could tell he was a perfect fit for him. And she was happy for him but couldn’t come around wishing she could share her life with someone other than her daughter. So, thinking about it, the Dad-remarried-card worked quite well, after all.  
“It’s sweet of you to worry but I’m fine, really”, she cut Daisy’s word off when she wanted to protest, “and besides, you know why it wouldn’t work.”  
“You don’t know that.”  
“I have a pretty good idea”  
“That bastard was an exception”  
She sighed. Maybe that was true but her fling with Grant Ward didn’t exactly increase her faith in relationships, or mankind for that matter. He’d been a co-worker from when she’d tried to go back to working for the military, piloting planes. As it turned out he’d been a double agent for the enemy and had only wanted to gain her trust. She had beaten his sorry ass and then retired from the military altogether.  
Looking at her watch, she realized she had to leave in a few minutes.  
“I hope so”, she said, “I need to go now. Talk to you soon.”  
“Bye. Give the guy a chance and let him in, at least a little.”  
“Don’t be impertinent, Daisy. Love you.” She scowled at her just a little.  
“I would never be”, she smirked, “Love ya, too.”  
Melinda hung up, grabbed her coat and left for the restaurant she had told Phil to meet her at.


End file.
